Land Ministry Suspends Okinawa's Move To Block Base Relocation Work

TOKYO, JAPAN - OCT. 27: The land ministry said Tuesday it will suspend the Okinawa governor's attempt to prevent the state from moving ahead with the building of a U.S. military replacement facility in the southern island prefecture.The ministry's move will allow the Defense Ministry to resume work to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. The government also decided at a Cabinet meeting the same day to begin procedures to prepare for a possible legal tussle over the issue if Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga does not change his stance. Wrangling between the local and central governments has been intensifying since Onaga on Oct. 13 revoked the approval granted by his predecessor to the central government in 2013 for landfill work to relocate the base from a crowded residential district in Ginowan to the less populated Henoko coastal area of Nago. 'I felt strong resentment. I have no choice but to say the (ministry's) judgment was a foregone conclusion,' Onaga, who was elected last November on a pledge to oppose the relocation of the base within Okinawa, said at a news conference Tuesday night. The Defense Ministry's Okinawa Defense Bureau suspended relocation-related work following the governor's action, but countered the following day by asking land minister Keiichi Ishii to examine the legitimacy of Onaga's revocation and to suspend the decision. On Tuesday, Ishii said at a press conference he will suspend the governor's decision because not doing so would make it 'impossible to continue with the relocation project' and continue to pose 'risks' to residents living near the base. 'The Japan-U.S. alliance may be adversely affected,' Ishii added. While it may take some time for the minister to complete his examination of the legitimacy of the governor's revocation, the defense bureau can proceed with the relocation work in the meantime.